AI Speech Analysis Could Spot Early Alzheimer's

Analyzing speech using the same AI algorithms as a trending new chatbot could act as a screening tool for Alzheimer's disease, research shows. The findings, reported in PLOS Digital Health, demonstrate how AI-driven speech assessment could assist with the early diagnosis of dementia and help tailor interventions towards individual needs. The system deploys the third generation of a large, specific language model called Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT-3), which is produced by San Francisco research and development company OpenAI. The same company launched the ChatGPT last month, which has been making waves in the chatbot industry for combining deep learning with natural language processing to mimic realistic human conversations. "We know from ongoing research that the cognitive effects of Alzheimer's disease can manifest themselves in language production," said co-author Hualou Liang, a professor in Drexel's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.